Michelle MacLaren Deserves Better Than Wonder Woman

Back when a Wonder Woman movie was first announced, fans had mixed feelings. On one hand, it was exciting to hear that, finally, the main character in a big-budget superhero movie would be a woman. On the other hand, unlike lighthearted Marvel, D.C. mistakes moroseness for gravitas, even when it comes to Wonder Woman's costume. That's enough to drain away a lot of anticipation.

But I'm not bummed. It's hard to imagine that even MacLaren could have eked a fun Wonder Woman that could adhere to D.C.'s dreary tone. She shouldn't be hitching her wagon to this franchise. She should be doing something much cooler.

And she might be doing just that. The Wrap reports that MacLaren is rumored to be in the running for the upcoming Captain Marvel movie, Marvel's first female-driven movie. While D.C. has "a history of underutilizing, underwriting and just plain ignoring their biggest female icon," as Shoshana Kessock explained in 2013, Captain Marvel has become a cult hit for Marvel Comics, particularly with female readers: She's a badass Air Force pilot who leads the Avengers and has a devout following of women who call themselves the Carol Corps. She even wears pants! She's a dynamic character who lacks Wonder Woman's baggage—with Captain Marvel, there's no particular need to dance around the tender sensitivities of the fandom. It's a much better vehicle for a talented director like MacLaren, and I hope that this rumor comes to pass.